You want our best player and we want your best young player. That seems to
have been Daniel Levy’s line of attack as he tries to get the best possible
deal for Spurs this summer.

Key component: Alvaro Morata (centre), the young Real Madrid striker, is the man Spurs chairman Daniel Levy wants as part of a world-record deal to take Gareth Bale to SpainPhoto: GETTY IMAGES

By Pete Jenson

8:31PM BST 08 Aug 2013

Eyebrows may have been raised over a 20-year-old kid with barely any first team experience in Spain becoming one of the main sticking points in Real Madrid’s pursuit of Gareth Bale, but Tottenham continue to insist on the inclusion of Alvaro Morata and his youth international record helps to explain why.

The most diligent directors of football across Europe – Tottenham’s Franco Baldini among them – will have followed the young centre forward from at least as far back as 2011 when he finished top tournament scorer with six goals in the Under-19 European Championships.

He also won the Golden Boot this summer in Israel, top-scoring with four goals as Spain won the Under-21 European Championship.

His country hope, after his two successes at youth level, he will go on to win trophies with the seniors. With 21 goals in 25 games for the national youth teams it is little wonder they call him Spain’s next No 9.

It could be argued a No 9 is something the world and European champions need now.

David Villa and Fernando Torres have peaked, Álvaro Negredo and Roberto Soldado have, at different times, failed to convince Vicente Del Bosque.

Negredo was left out of this summer’s Confederations Cup and Soldado missed out on the European Championships the year before.

After his performances in Israel some have suggested Morata should make the step up sooner rather than later to compete for that centre-forward shirt.

That would certainly be easier to do in Tottenham’s first team rather than in Real Madrid’s reserves.

According to some Madrid supporters ‘the reserves’, or as the case at Madrid their ‘Castilla’ side that competes in the second division and is, in effect, their youth team.

It is where Jose Mourinho left Morata for too long before giving his first-team breakthrough.

After a game against Levante last year when Morata came on to score the winner with his first touch in a 2-1 victory, Mourinho went to great lengths to defend himself against such claims.

“The one who gave him his debut? That was me,” he said.

“The one who made sure he was part of the pre-season tour three years running? That was me.

"The one that made sure he did not leave the club? That was me.

"The one who told the club they should give him a first team contract? That was also me.”

Mourinho never doubted Morata’s huge potential but he felt the player should be spared having to respond to the demands of the Madrid supporters and their over-developed and, in recent years, under-satisfied hunger for a local hero.

In the second half of last season, he played in his first clasico, operating on the left of the three behind Karim Benzema.

He was playing ahead of the rested Cristiano Ronaldo and performed so well that when Ronaldo came on in the second half it was to replace Benzema and not Morata.

He had set up the opening goal for Benzema after just six minutes and went close to scoring himself in the second half.

If that performance did not persuade watching European clubs he was ready for first team football then this summer’s performances in the European Championship in Israel will have.

The long stride, the dark mane, the ability to hold the ball up facing his team, and finish with his head and both feet facing goal, have provoked comparisons with Fernando Morientes.

That impressive performance against Barcelona playing to the left of Benzema will have also been noted by Tottenham – a place to the left of Roberto Soldado would be another tactical option for Andre Villas-Boas post-Bale.

Soldado has plenty in common with Morata as a former Real Madrid youngster tipped to star for the first team.

The difference being that in Soldado’s day president Florentino Pérez could not wait to the get the home-grown players out of the door for a quick fee.

Now there is more pressure on him to nurture the local talent as Barcelona have done on their way to three Champions League successes in the last seven years.